Taiwan has slammed China for its military parade marking 80 years since the end of World War II saying it does not commemorate peace with the barrel of a gun.
Taipei has repeatedly lashed out at Beijin for what it sees as a distorted view of the war as the Republicof China was the government at the time, fighting alongside the Allies.
In 1949, the Republic of China government fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists and retains the formal name to this day.
Since then, China has claimed Taiwan as its own territory and vows integration.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, taking to his Facebook profile to mark Armed Forces Day in his country, said republican general Hsu Yung-chang signed the Japan surrender on behalf of China, calling it “gratifying” that the former Axis powers had all become democracies since.
“The people of Taiwan cherish peace, and Taiwan does not commemorate peace with the barrel of a gun,” he wrote, in a veiled attack on China.
The definition of fascism is broad, encompassing extreme nationalism, intense control of freedom of speech, secret police networks, and “overt cults of personality around strongman leaders”, Lai added.
He did not exclusivel mentioned China’s war parade, which was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un alongside Xi Jinping. The Chinese President warned during the event that the world was facing a choice between peace and war.
Some television stations in Taiwan aired the event, but it did not get the same wall-to-wall coverage as in China.
Taiwan’s China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council, responding to its parade, said it was the people and military of the Republic of China who had made “countless sacrifices and contributions, ultimately achieving victory.”
“The Chinese communists sought only to expand and consolidate its own power and made no contribution to the war effort,” it said in a statement.
“No matter how many resources the Chinese communists spend on celebratory events, it cannot obscure the ironclad historical facts.”
During China’s military parade, Lai was attending a memorial ceremony at Taipei’s National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine to commemorate those who died fighting for the Republic of China, including those who battled Japan and the communists.
